


when there was talk of getting older

by tousled



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-07 22:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21225581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tousled/pseuds/tousled
Summary: “Let’s get married.” Astrid says. Tuff drops his basket.





	when there was talk of getting older

**Author's Note:**

> For day 4 of httyd rare pair week: fulfilled / everything will fall into place
> 
> Song is “Treat You Better” by RÜFÜS DU SOL (& title is from it). The whole solace album is SO good but treat you better is so dreamy and I love listening to it loud in the car. 
> 
> Madge Thorston is a twin’s family OC by maedarakat 
> 
> Also please ask me about mama hoff.

The sky is as grey as Tuff’s eyes, storm brewing on the horizon, when Astrid looks over at him and can barely breathe. The last vestiges of the warm spring day clinging to his skin, hair golden in the light and laughing at a joke he made as he picks his favourite wild berries. Astrid feels warm, like the residual rays of sunlight, like fresh yak’s milk, like honey mead. Looking at him, at peace and smiling, love overflows from her heart, bubbling up over into her chest and curling up inside of her. 

“Let’s get married.” Astrid says. Tuff drops his basket. 

“What?” Tuff says, staring at the berries tumbling out of his basket and Astrid feels silly and fun and so in love she can barely stand it. She gets on one knee. 

“Tuffnut Laverne Thorston, will you marry me?” She asks, reaching up to take his hand. Tuff blinks, and his cheeks are flushed and he looks a little like he’s not breathing. “Baby, you okay?” 

A moment later Tuff lets out a long exhale, air whistling between his teeth and he squeezes Astrid’s fingers tightly. The other hand has gone to his mouth, clearly keeping a squeal in and Astrid squeezes his hand back. 

“Yes.” Tuff says, and then, “yes, yes, yes, yes,” like now he’s said he can’t stop. Astrid wants to swallow every single yes and keep them safe inside her heart forever. She stands up to try, still holding Tuff’s hand in one of her own and gently moving his other hand so she can cup his cheek. At the touch Tuff surges forwards, hiccupy little yeses pressed into Astrid’s mouth. He drops her hand to wind his arms around her neck and drag her deeper into the kiss, and Astrid happily sinks into it. 

They kiss until Astrid’s dizzy with it, arm around Tuff’s waist as he melts into her. 

“A spring wedding,” Tuff says. He takes a deep breath, half settling his pounding heart and half to start a ramble. “We need meadowsweet and salvias, and baby’s breath.” 

“It’s spring right now,” Astrid says, caught up in the moment and the way Tuff’s eyes light up. There’s probably a million reasons this is ridiculous, this is downright  _ stupid _ , but right now Astrid can’t even think of one. 

“Let’s get Ruff,” Tuff breathes, “and my mum.” 

“You get them. I’ll get my mother, and Gothi.” Astrid replies, dipping her head to kiss him again, hand firm on his hip. One kiss turns into two, turns into three, four - and Tuff’s breathless little hiccups taste as sweet as honey. Astrid thinks about a ring pressed into the back of her neck where Tuff’s fingers are and shivers with it. 

The thing is, when they’d started dating Madge Thorston herself had popped around and spoke of family heirlooms and metaphors. Astrid hadn’t got it, not until an ancient ring was pressed into her hand and she’d turned beet red. It had been a  _ week _ , how could anyone think that? How could anyone  _ know _ ? 

“Meet you in the village green in hour?” Astrid proposes, barely wanting to stop pressing her mouth to his to take a breath. 

“Forty five minutes.” Tuff suggests, dropping his arms. Astrid probably doesn’t need thirty minutes, so she nods, pressing one last kiss to his lips before stepping away. 

“See you in forty five minutes future Mr Hofferson,” she teases, but Tuff shivers all the way to his toes. 

Basket forgotten, Tuff has a spring in his step as he can barely look away to keep track of where he’s walking. Astrid salvages as many of the berries as she can, and keeps her eyes peeled on her way back to the village for meadowsweet and salvias and baby’s breath. Truthfully, she can’t pick anything out from all the wild flowers expect baby’s breath so she picks a bundle on her way back to the village, a spring in her step. She thinks about flowers in Tuff’s hair and how  _ wonderfulridiculousperfect _ this all is. She can’t breathe from the love choking up her chest. 

“Mama!” Astrid calls, flinging open the door to the Hofferson hut, “mama! 

“Don’t shout, sweetheart.” Her Mama says, voicing coming from the kitchen with flour on her apron and herbs in her hair. Astrid’s heart swells at the sight, her mama in her element. She puts the flowers down on the kitchen table. 

“I love you,” she breathes, just taking a moment. A cup full of fear splashes in her stomach; no one has to directly  _ say  _ for Astrid to know they think she’s gotten a downgrade. It’s in their silences. “I’m getting married.” 

“Oh, finally.” Her mama says, wiping her hands on her apron. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you were engaged?” 

“Mama!” Astrid says, scandalised. 

“Did the Thorston boy finally perk up the courage to ask?” She continues, ignoring Astrid’s squawk.

“No mama,  _ I  _ asked.” Astrid 

“Of course you did.” Her Mama says, a secret smile on her face. 

She gathers Astrid up in her arms, hugging her tight. Astrid sinks into the warmth of her, breathing deeply and letting everything settle down inside her. Her mama is warm and bright like freshly baked bread, and honeyed mead and a roasted feast. Her mama is comfort and home. 

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispers into Astrid’s hair, hugging Astrid even tighter for a moment, “Finn would be too.” It chokes Astrid up for a moment, burying her face into her mama’s shoulder. 

“We need to get Gothi.” Astrid says, voice wobbly. “We’re supposed to meet Tuff and his family in fifteen minutes at the village green.”

“Fifteen minutes?” Her Mama’s voice lifts up at the end, like maybe she didn’t hear right but one look at Astrid’s nervous face she settles. “I’ll get Gothi - you find that Thorston heirloom hidden away in your room.” 

“Mama.” Astrid says, affronted. She didn’t know she’d known - that it wasn’t just a secret between her and Madge Thorston. 

“Go silly girl,” her Mama says, fond and soft like Astrid is still tiny and they’re sitting in the kitchen telling each other about their days, “my daughter is  _ getting married _ .” 

There’s a loose panel in the corner of Astrid’s room since she was a kid, and it’s wear she stored all her prized possessions. A robin’s egg, a pocket knife Uncle Finn gave her, some pressed flowers and several bits of pieces of different animal bones. Nestled all amongst all the treasure of her childhood is the Thorston Family Heirloom and Astrid’s hand shakes when she picks it up. She settles everything back into place and slips the ring into her pocket.

Double checking that it’s safe Astrid takes the shortcut through the blacksmith’s to the village green and is a little surprised to see everyone already there. Her mama and Madge are helping to tuck the flowers Astrid left on her mama’s kitchen table into Tuff’s braids and Ruff is talking animatedly to her brother. Gothi looks like she wants everything to hurry the fuck up. Astrid feels like she’s going to be sick she’s so happy. A good kind of sick, like when you eat too much pie or drink too much mead. She steps down into the green and a hand lands on her shoulder. 

“Congratulations,” A voice that Astrid knows very well rumbles. 

“Uh, thank you Stoick.” Astrid says, looking up. Sometimes she doesn’t know what to say to him. Sometimes she feels like she might look at Stoick and blurt  _ oh I broke his heart too, but I’m only sorry it’s broken not for doing it _ . 

“I’m so happy for you,” Stoick says and then laughs at Astrid’s confusion, “you know, in ways you are like a daughter to me, all of you kids are little children to me. I want you all to be happy. I’m so proud of you.” Astrid still doesn’t know what to say, and when Stoick’s expression softens he gathers her up in a big bear hug. 

“Will you stay?” Astrid asks, unable to move her arms to hug Stoick properly back. 

“Of course.” He offers and nudges Astrid’s attention back to where Tuff is still getting fussed over. Tuff catches her eye, and he breaks out in the most ridiculously huge smile Astrid’s ever seen. Her face tries to copy it too. 

In the end, it is mostly a blur, a whirlwind of sensations and moments. Tuff’s hands are a little sweaty like maybe it’s a joke, maybe he’s worried about ruining it, but Astrid doesn’t move. The four guests stand in a semi circle and they heckle Astrid’s fumbling of vows, laughter in their voices. It’s the first time she’s probably not been perfect at something, and it’s because she can’t take her eyes away, the meadowsweet by his ear, the shadows of his eyelashes across freckled cheeks whenever he can’t stand the attention. Their hands are bound and Tuff cries at the ring and Astrid kisses the tears off his cheeks. They kiss until Ruff calls out that they’re being gross, that it’s supposed to be  _ chaste  _ and  _ god fearing.  _ Astrid laughs and has a ring on her finger that later Tuff will whisper about how he picked it out carefully, months and months and months ago. 

Stoick is the loudest crier, needing you borrow Astrid’s Mama’s handkerchief and then she doesn’t want it back. When it’s over, and Astrid is  _ married,  _ her Mama on one side and Tuffnut on the other, it feels like kind of just another day and a brand new start. 


End file.
